daughter

American  

[daw-ter] / ˈdɔ tər /

noun

1. a female child or person in relation to her parents.

2. any female descendant.

3. a person related as if by the ties binding daughter to parent.

   daughter of the church.

4. anything personified as female and considered with respect to its origin.

   The United States is the daughter of the 13 colonies.

5. Chemistry, Physics. an isotope formed by radioactive decay of another isotope.

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adjective

1. Biology. pertaining to a cell or other structure arising from division or replication.

   daughter cell; daughter DNA.

daughter British  

/ ˈdɔːtə /

noun

1. a female offspring; a girl or woman in relation to her parents

2. a female descendant

3. a female from a certain country, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment, etc

   a daughter of the church

4. archaic (often capital) a form of address for a girl or woman

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1. biology denoting a cell or unicellular organism produced by the division of one of its own kind

2. physics (of a nuclide) formed from another nuclide by radioactive decay

Other Word Forms

• daughter-like
  adjective
• daughterhood
  noun
• daughterless
  adjective
• daughterlike
  adjective
• daughterliness
  noun
• daughterly
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of daughter

before 950; Middle English doughter, Old English dohtor; cognate with German Tochter, Greek thygátēr, Sanskrit duhitā

Explanation

A daughter is a female offspring, and while it is usually referring to the female child's relationship to her parents, it might be used to suggest any similar relationship, such as the organization “Daughters of the American Revolution.” The English word daughter appeared before the Tenth Century as the Old English dohtor and later the Middle English doughter. Any connected group of women might be referred to as "daughters," For example, the "daughters of Zion" of the Bible and the "Daughters of Elysium" in Beethoven’s "Ode to Joy" closing to his Ninth Symphony. If people say you are your mother's daughter, aside from pointing out the obvious they are saying the two of you have a lot in common.

Example Sentences

Pommier’s survivors include her husband, Peter Diel; her son, David Diel; her daughter, Jacqueline Pommier Diel; and her sisters, Kravitt and Denise Johnson.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

The mother of one woman who went to police later told the BBC her daughter, who has since died, had been effectively dismissed by officers.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Tracye Saar, who is her mother’s youngest daughter and also her studio manager, has memories of sitting under the long wooden tables at the ICCC, smelling the dust and oil from the sewing machines.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

While pregnant with her second son, she took Barberich’s advice and around Mother’s Day wrote a letter to the daughter she would never have.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

In the morning, Lou Ann makes sweet potatoes and video-chats with her daughter and a bunch of other relatives, so Boo and I get the whole morning to ourselves.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• child
• descendant
• female offspring
• girl
• kid
• offspring